Russia might take a step ahead on crypto-currencies

“Cryptocurrencies are a fact of life… We need to create a legal framework for these operations, we need to control these operations if these operations contravene the law, including money laundering legislation,” Anton Siluanov, the Russian Finance Minister toldCNBC on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) meetings in Washington DC.

Just hours after the valuation of the Bitcoin (BC), the major crypto-currency, reached a new record high at USD 5,000, the Russian official considered that given both the potential risk and the importance of BC and the likes in the future, “the State cannot remain on the sidelines” hence the need for more understanding, education and regulation on this matter.

However, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde took an opposite stance saying in London recently that cryptocurrencies “pose little or no challenge to the existing order of fiat currencies and central banks” because “they are too volatile, too risky, too opaque and some have been hacked.”